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Egalitarianism
subverted the dominant social doctrine of the time, the Divine Right of Kings, by saying "All men are created equal"]] Egalitarianism (derived from the French word égal, meaning "equal"), is a trend of thought that favors equality of some sort. Its general premise is that people should be treated as equals on certain dimensions such as religiously, politically, economically, socially, or culturally. Egalitarian doctrines maintain that all human persons are equal in fundamental worth or moral status. Arneson Richard, "Egalitarianism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2002.) Web: In large part, it is a response to the abuses of statist development and has two distinct definitions in modern English.http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/egalitarianism It is defined either as a political doctrine that holds that all people should be treated as equals and have the same political, economic, social, and civil rights or as a social philosophy advocating the removal of economic inequalities among people. It is considered by some to be the natural state of society. Erdal, D. & Whiten, A. (1996) "Egalitarianism and Machiavellian Intelligence in Human Evolution" in Mellars, P. & Gibson, K. (eds) Modeling the Early Human Mind. Cambridge MacDonald Monograph Series Studies have shown that social inequality is the cause of many social problems. A comprehensive study of major world economies revealed a correlation between social inequality and problems such as homicide, infant mortality, obesity, teenage pregnancies, emotional depression and prison population. Egalitarianism is a subject of concern politically, philosophically, and religiously. Forms Some specifically focused egalitarian concerns include economic egalitarianism, legal egalitarianism, luck egalitarianism, political egalitarianism, gender egalitarianism, racial equality, asset-based egalitarianism, and Christian egalitarianism. Common forms of egalitarianism include political, philosophical, and religious. Political The framers of various modern governments made references to the Enlightenment principles of egalitarianism, "inalienable rights endowed by their Creator," in the moral principles by which they lived, and which formed the basis for their legacy. Philosophical At a cultural level, egalitarian theories have developed in sophistication and acceptance during the past two hundred years. Among the notable broadly egalitarian philosophies are socialism, communism, anarchism, left-libertarianism, and progressivism, all of which propound economic, political, and legal egalitarianism, respectively. Several egalitarian ideas enjoy wide support among intellectuals and in the general populations of many countries. Whether any of these ideas have been significantly implemented in practice, however, remains a controversial question. One argument is that liberalism provides democracy with the experience of civic reformism. Without it, democracy loses any tie─argumentative or practical─to a coherent design of public policy endeavoring to provide the resources for the realization of democratic citizenship. For instance, some argue that modern representative democracy is a realization of political egalitarianism, while others believe that, in reality, most political power still resides in the hands of a ruling class, rather than in the hands of the people.Rosales, José María. "Liberalism, Civic Reformism and Democracy." 20th World Contress on Philosophy: Political Philosophy. Web: 12 March 2010. Liberalism, Civic Reformism and Democracy Religious In Christianity The Christian egalitarian view holds that the Bible teaches the fundamental equality of women and men of all racial and ethnic mixes, all economic classes, and all age groups, based on the teachings and example of Jesus Christ and the overarching principles of scripture.Stagg, Evelyn and Frank. Woman in the World of Jesus. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1978. ISBN 0-664-24195-6 However, within Christianity, there are dissenting views from opposing groups known as Complementarians and Patriarchalists. In Islam Islam is cited as being as an egalitarian religion in that it repudiates forms of nationalism that artificially aggrandize one's own people over others on no moral basis . Dr. Mohammad Omar Farooq says that "Various demarcations of people based on groups, tribes, ethnicities or nationalities are quite alright, as it is natural for the humanity as a social entity. However, that is primarily to know each other in terms of our lineage, not to aggrandize oneself. Islam further reinforces this universality on the basis of not a man (Adam), but a man and a woman (Adam and Eve) and educates us that there is no virtue based on race, color, language, geographical location, wealth, or gender." Pulitzer Prize-winning authors Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn have argued that Islam is not misogynistic.Kristof, Nicholas D. and Sheryl WuDunn.Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. Knopf, 2009. ISBN 978-0307267146 Muhammad's introduction of Islam in the seventh century is seen by some as a step forward for women. Studies A study published in 2009 took into account data sets from major world economies and correlated them with inequality indices. The study found that the absolute wealth within a country had little effect on the citizens' wellbeing or social cohesion, and that inequality correlated strongly with social problems such as homicide, infant mortality, obesity, teenage pregnancies, emotional depression and prison population. For example, countries such as Japan, South Korea, Finland and Norway scored highly in social well-being and equality indices, while countries such as the United States and United Kingdom scored low in both. A study of American college students published in Nature showed that people are willing to pay to reduce inequality. When subjects were placed into groups and given random amounts of income, they spent their own money to reduce the incomes of the highest earners and increase the incomes of the lowest earners. Critics argued that no experiments have been made on working adults whereupon they might not be generous with redistribution of their income. In a follow-up study, Swiss children showed a significant increase in sharing between the ages of 3 and 8. It has not been determined whether the results of either of these experiments are due to an innate instinct, or exposure to and adoption of the customs of other people.As Kids Grow Older, Egalitarianism Honed by Jon Hamilton. All Things Considered, NPR. 27 Aug 2008. Support and criticism A society that meets the meritocratic goal of equal opportunity might still be a harsh environment for those who lack the physical, mental or social capabilities to compete. The extent to which a genuine meritocratic society is possible in the real world is debatable.John Schar (1967) "Equality of Opportunity—and Beyond" See also * "All men are created equal" * Asset-based egalitarianism * Basic income * Deep ecology * Discrimination * Equality of outcome * Equal opportunity * Gender equality * Gift economy * Harrison Bergeron * Inequity aversion * Jante Law * Jock Tamson's Bairns * Left-wing politics * Liberalism * Liberté, égalité, fraternité * Mutualism * Reciprocal altruism * Redistributive justice * Social equality * Socialism * The Talented Tenth * Tall poppy syndrome a pejorative term used in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand * The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better References External links * Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: ** Egalitarianism, by R. Arneson (2002). ** Equality, by S. Gosepath (2007). ** Equality of opportunity, by R. Arneson (2002). * [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cup/catalog/data/023108/0231081200.HTM Lepowsky, Maria. 1993. Fruit of the Motherland: Gender in an Egalitarian Society. New York: Columbia University Press.] * The Equality Studies Centre * Twin Oaks Intentional Community * Federation of Egalitarian Communities ar:مساواتية bs:Egalitarizam bg:Егалитаризъм da:Egalitarisme de:Egalitarismus et:Egalitarism es:Igualitarismo fr:Égalitarisme it:Egualitarismo ka:ეგალიტარიზმი nl:Egalitarisme ja:平等主義 no:Egalitarisme pl:Egalitaryzm pt:Igualitarismo ru:Эгалитаризм simple:Egalitarianism fi:Egalitarismi sv:Egalitarism tr:Eşitlikçilik uk:Егалітаризм zh:平等原則 Category:Egalitarianism Category:Political culture Category:Social theories Category:Ethical theories